Evaluation criteria revised to better assess universities' internationalization

The Korea Times has revised the evaluation criteria for its University Rankings 2027 to provide a more comprehensive and rigorous assessment of the internationalization of Korean universities.

This year’s evaluation expanded its coverage from 54 universities last year to 60, while increasing the total score from 190 points across 18 indicators to 200 points across 19 indicators.

Notably, The Korea Times introduced a new indicator measuring the proportion of full-time international faculty.

It also changed the calculation method for the academic retention rate of international students, focusing the measure on degree-seeking students, and refined the evaluation period for research performance.

The new international faculty indicator, worth 10 points, is designed to strengthen the assessment of internationalization in the education and research environment, marking the biggest change in this year’s rankings.

Accordingly, the education category’s score increased from 60 points to 70 points.

The category now consists of seven indicators, including the ratio of degree-seeking international students to total enrollment; the diversity of international students’ nationalities; the ratio of exchange students to enrolled students; the proportion of international students meeting language requirements; international student retention rate; proportion of internatonal full-time faculty and International Education Quality Assurance System (IEQAS) certification — a government certification system that verifies whether institutions meet standards for managing and supporting international students.

International student retention rate revised

The calculation method for the academic retention rate of international students has also been revised.

In 2025, the dropout rate was calculated for all international students, including those in degree and non-degree programs, Korean language training programs and exchange and visiting student programs.

Beginning in 2026, however, the indicator is calculated based on international students enrolled in degree programs.

The change reflects feedback from universities during last year’s assessment process and takes into account the practical difficulty of applying equally rigorous standards to the management and public disclosure of dropout rates for international students outside degree programs.

Research performance assessed over 3 years

In the research category, the publication period for papers under evaluation has been extended from one year to three years.

In 2025, the assessment covered research papers published during the one-year period immediately preceding the evaluation year.

This year’s assessment covers papers published over the three-year period from January 2023 through December 2025.

The change is intended to reduce the impact of short-term fluctuations in research performance and provide a more stable assessment of the research capabilities universities have developed over time.

The research category consists of five indicators worth 50 points: the number of international research papers per faculty member, the proportion of internationally co-authored research papers, Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI), the proportion of international research papers published in the top 10 percent of academic journals, and research funding.

Dormitory assessment expanded to 2 measures

In the student support category, the dormitory-related assessment has been further refined.

Building on the previous dormitory indicator, the 2026 assessment evaluates two separate measures: the proportion of total dormitory capacity allocated to international students (5 points) and the proportion of international students accommodated in university dormitories (5 points).

The new approach assesses not only how much of a university’s overall dormitory capacity is allocated to international students, but also how many international students can actually be accommodated in university housing.

The change is aimed at providing a more detailed assessment of international students’ housing and settlement conditions and the university’s commitment to supporting them.

Accordingly, the student support category consists of four indicators worth 40 points.

Future reform plan

The Korea Times plans to expand the assessment to include indicators measuring universities’ international campus capabilities, such as settlement infrastructure and living conditions for international faculty and students.

To complement the current evaluation system, which is centered primarily on quantitative indicators, The Korea Times also plans to introduce satisfaction surveys of international students as a qualitative component of the evaluation in the medium to long term.

It has begun consultations with relevant organizations and is conducting in-depth research to ensure the objectivity and reliability of the surveys, which are essential for conducting a meaningful qualitative assessment.

As demand among international students coming to Korea to study grows at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, The Korea Times is considering gradually expanding the current assessment, which focuses largely on undergraduate students, to include indicators related to international graduate students.

To help prospective students gain a broader understanding of universities’ internationalization capabilities, The Korea Times is calling on relevant organizations to expand the public disclosure of data that can track the academic conditions and outcomes of international students, including the proportion of courses taught in English and the employment rate of international graduates.

In addition to diversity in the nationalities of international students, The Korea Times believes that diversity in international research collaboration is also essential for ensuring the sustainability of international research partnerships without overreliance on any particular country. It has begun developing a new international research diversity indicator.

The Korea Times will continue to review the development and introduction of new indicators that are important from the perspective of international students as education consumers. It will also consider adjustments to the weightings assigned to individual indicators based on advice from its advisory committee and surveys of international students.